158 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



shown at the Albuquerque congress a year 

 ago. The date coming so near the Christ- 

 mas holidays prevented some people from 

 going who might otherwise have attended, 

 and, as was stated in these columns in 

 September, the lack of meetings through- 

 out the Northwest during the .summer, re- 

 sulted in an exceedingly poor representa- 

 tion from that section of country, although 

 the few delegates who were present ably 

 acquitted themselves, and in a measure 

 compensated for their scarcity in number. 

 Another regrettable fact was the meager 

 reports which appeared in the newspapers, 

 not as much space and attention being 

 given the congress as was devoted to a 

 convention of Sunday-school workers in 

 Boston recently, and, without in any sense 

 meaning to belittle the Sunday-school con- 

 vention, its importance cannot be compared 

 with that of irrigation; the reclamation of 

 the Great West; the making of homes for 

 millions of contented and industrious 

 people; the creation of new industries and 

 the founding of a new civilization under 

 better and nobler conditions for the average 

 man. In order to interest the general pub- 

 lic, and especially the Eastern editor who 

 usually looks with suspicion on all matters 

 of Western origin, it is necessary to or- 

 ganize a propaganda and carry on an ac- 

 tive warfare with public meetings, such as 

 the irrigation mass meetings which were 

 held in New York, Boston, aud Chicago in 

 the spring of 1895; and to bring to bear 

 every possible influence to show that irri- 

 gation is a living, breathing National 

 issue, not merely a local matter pertaining 

 to Utah or Arizona. 



What It The Irrigation Congress of 

 Aimed 1896 will go down into his- 

 ^* tory as the congress that 



tried to do something. It was purposed 

 to formulate a definite and settled policy 

 regarding the public domain, the reclam- 

 ation of arid lands, the conservation of the 

 water supply, and to present and pass 

 judgment upon bills regulating the settle- 

 ment and use thereof; to recommend some 

 settlement of the disputes regarding inter- 

 national streams; to recommend such leg- 

 islation as was necessary in each of the 

 seventeen arid states and territories to 

 secure the wise control and use of water 

 for irrigation; to deal with the preservation 

 of the forests, and the reservation by the 

 Federal government of reservoir sites and 



the construction of dams thereon, to or 

 ganize a lobby to visit Washington and 

 influence legislation in favor of western 

 interests, and to provide a fund for the 

 expense of such a committee. It was in- 

 tended to confine the Fifth Congress 

 strictly to business and not to running off 

 on excursions, and wasting time on public 

 dinners and speeches; it was expected 

 that it would be more largely attended 

 than any of its predecessors because of 

 the growing interest in the subject and 

 also because of the reputation for integ- 

 rity and ability that characterized some 

 of the leaders of the movement. The 

 expectations of the public were, it is said, 

 raised to fever heat and the convening of 

 the congress watched for with many an- 

 ticipations of the great good it had an 

 opportunity of doing in behalf of arid 

 America; it was also purposed to more 

 closely cement the friends of irrigation 

 into an association which would have rules, 

 and regulations and a membership fee. 

 This last purpose was accomplished. An 

 association was organized with 103 mem- 

 bers each one of whom paid the fee of 

 $1.00. 



Some Some of the papers present- 

 Practical ed before the congress were 

 Results. prepared by men of more 

 than ordinary ability. They are confined 

 to problems that are of the utmost import- 

 ance to the development of the West. 

 They treat of practical questions in a 

 practical way and they should be carefully 

 studied by those who were not so fortun- 

 ate as to be present at their reading. A 

 couple of them appear in this issue of 

 THE AGE, entitled ' ' Immigration into the 

 Arid Regions," by John E. Frost, Land 

 Commissioner of the Santa Fe; and " Irri- 

 gation in the Eastern States," by F. H. 

 Newell of the Geological Survey. Several 

 more of the most important addresses will 

 appear in early issues of THE AGE and 

 altogether they constitute the greatest 

 practical benefit derived from the recent 

 congress. 



The New The congress elected the 

 National following named to be offi- 

 Committee. cers f or the ensuing year: 

 Chairman of the executive committee, E. K. 

 Moses of Great Bend, Kan., re-elected; 

 Vice-Chairmen, Brigham Young of Utah, 

 and E. G. Hudson of Illinois; treasurer 



